Witch
by MuSiC HaTs
Summary: "Passions spin the plot: We are betrayed by what is false within."


**_Holy wow has it been a while._**

**_Sorry, so sorry, I just needed a break. I'll be back to writing more soon, though, I swear._**

**_I don't have much to saaay, so I hope y'all enjoy this little thing that took me a couple of hours._**

**_Lyrics are from the song Witch (or Witch Hunt) by Luka Megurine_**

**_Okay go!_**

* * *

_~o~_

"_Come, listen to this sad story  
Come, and don't forget to prepare a handkerchief"_

_~o~_

At the steps of a church, a small crowd had begun to gather, swarming around two people, who were speaking loudly of a sad story they had to tell. One of the people-a young woman-whipped a handkerchief out of her sleeve, dark eyes imploring at their growing audience as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

Her partner (her brother, it had to be-same dark hair, same brown eyes, they must be related-) stepped forward, waving a hand at all of them as he spoke with her, their voices casting a spell as they dove into their story.

_~o~_

"_It seems that there was a witch in a land  
and it seems that she fell in love with a prince"_

_~o~_

_In a small town, a couple walked down the road, hands intertwined, not paying much attention to the stares they received as they went past, much too lost in each other. They were talking, laughing and giggling, much like any other couple, and it wouldn't be such a deal to the villagers if the young man wasn't the _prince _of their small kingdom._

_And yet, there he was, all gold hair and cobalt eyes, laughing along with a girl that tucked a lock of jet black hair over her shoulder, green eyes shining with amusement. There was warmth around them and stars in their eyes and, oh, were they in love, so, so in love. _

_They didn't notice anyone, so wrapped up in each other they were; they were in their own little world._

_ So lost were they, that they didn't notice the young blonde girl looking at them as they walked past, pale grey eyes shaded by her hood. She frowned lightly, and gripped at the crucifix hanging around her neck, murmuring a soft prayer under her breath._

_~o~_

_**Let's forget about the magic that stops time**_

_**Now is a time of joy  
**__~o~_

How did this happen?

Alice let herself ask that question, let it roll around on her tongue like it was a bitter candy. She looked over the screaming crowd with tired eyes, the ropes holding her up rubbing harshly against her arms and chest and legs as she asked herself that question over and over and over.

How did this happen? _Why _was this happening? What had she ever done to them? She couldn't help it that she was what she was; they didn't have to condemn her like this.

A lump filled her throat, crushing her, and Alice looked up at the red-orange sky, her shorn black locks stirred slightly by the wind.

_~o~_

_**Held by the cross, I look up at the sky**_

**(Repent! Repent!)**

_**While the voice of prayers die down  
**_**(My devotion has evaporated into nothingness)**_**  
**__~o~_

She looked around at the people, at her friends, her neighbors, as they prayed and cursed her, condemned her, judged her, and the lump grew as heavy bitterness crushed her heart. Alice had known these people for years; she'd trusted them, loved them, hoped to be around them until the end of her days.

She'd given them so much, and now here she was, strung up on a cross, no longer known as sweet Alice Masen, but Alice the traitor, Alice the liar, Alice the seducer.

Alice the _witch._

That hurt her. It hurt more than any wound that could ever be given to her, this betrayal.

Below her, the crowd's voices began to rise again, prayers and condemnation sent to the sky, and Alice looked down, at the woman in the front, holding a staff, her hood down, grey eyes hard.

Jane.

As Jane pulled out a small bible and began to read, Alice finally let her tears grow and fall.

_~o~_

_**If you call this love black magic  
**_**(Repent! Repent!)  
**_**Then light the flames of hatred  
**_**(Death is weighing upon us!)**

_~o~_

"_Come, take a look at the burning sky_

_Come, don't forget the flames of justice"_

_~o~_

"_It seems that there was a witch in a land_

_And it seems that she deceived the prince"  
~o~_

_Jane couldn't stand it._

_She couldn't let this go on anymore, let prince Jasper get pulled in deeper and deeper under this witch's spell until he was at a place of no return._

_How could they not see it? How could they not know what Alice Masen was? They all knew about witchcraft; they'd spoken of it constantly in church, she took care to remind them all of the signs, and yet when it was right there under their noses they just let it pass by._

_Jane looked back at them, at the couple so 'in love' that you could just feel it, but Jane knew. Jane knew better._

_ It wasn't love, not real love, anyway. _

_It was all a trick. A spell, by Alice Masen, all to get the prince under her thumb. She wouldn't let it happen, though; she'd die before she let anything happen to their prince._

_And so she decided. _

_~o~_

"_Jasper!"_

_She placed a hand on his elbow as he turned to look at her, pulling her hood down to show her face. "Oh, Jane. Hello," he smiled warmly at her, nodding politely in greeting, "how are you?" _

_She didn't respond, her face grave, and Jasper's smile slowly fell, replaced with one of extreme concern, "what is it, Jane? What's wrong?"_

_Jane pursed her lips, her eyes flitting away from him momentarily as she pulled a folded up piece of paper from her cloak. "Jasper," she murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But there's something I have to tell you."_

_ And she unfolded the paper, revealing Alice Masen for what she really was, and her heart tore in two as she saw Jasper's shocked face fall into one of pure despair._

_~o~_

_**To those who were captured by her alluring magic  
your times of joy are over  
**__~o~_

_**A demon calls out, tied to a cross **_  
**(Repent! Repent!)  
**_~o~_

"_Please! Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you, what have I done?"_

Jane looked at Alice, struggling against the tight ropes, sobbing, but she did not stop reading, did not give in to her cries, her pleas. Instead, she read louder, overpowering the distraught woman, because witches had power in words and she would not give her a chance to cast a spell.

_~o~_

_**Before shouting its evil spell,  
**_**(Virtue reduced to Vice)**

_~o~_

But Alice wouldn't give up, asking over and over what she had done, why they were doing this, and the crowd yelled back, telling her to be silent, that she was a liar, a seducer, a _demon_. She had used her magic to seduce the prince, to make him fall for her, to take control of him for her own gain.

She shook her head, eyes wild, new tears spilling over her cheeks, "why would I do that, why?" she wailed, "I love Jasper, I love him with everything I am, everything I have! Why would I-"

Whatever she was going to say died in her throat, and she reared back as Jasper appeared at Jane's side, his face twisted with his torment, his pain. Alice mouthed his name softly, gently, like a prayer, and tears slid down her dirt-streaked face, dripped off her chin onto her thin, ragged dress.

_~o~_

_**Cast judgment upon her sinful witchcraft **_  
**(Now, everything there is)**

_~o~_

Jasper bit his lip, bit it until it almost bled, but he didn't look away, he _wouldn't _look away. Even though he'd been shown the truth, had it practically shoved in his face, he still couldn't really believe it. He couldn't accept that Alice, his Alice, was a _witch_, one of the things he despised.

He'd been used, _tricked_, and the one that caused his torment was about to be burnt before him...but instead of feeling relief, that vicious righteousness, he only felt a profound _wrongness_, ripping his heart to shreds.

But he wouldn't stop; he wouldn't, until the threat to his kingdom was eradicated. So he steeled himself, and he spoke the words along with Jane, and watched Alice's face morph with a pain so great she couldn't bear it.

_~o~_

_**Envelop her in the sacred flames of righteousness**_

**(She's lost her way)**  
_~o~_

_**The foolishness of empty-headed people **_  
**(Repent! Repent!)  
**_~o~_

He'd betrayed her.

That was all that could go through Alice's mind, the words looping over and over, like a skipping record.

He'd betrayed her. He'd betrayed her. _Jasper betrayed her._ After all they'd had, he believed she was a monster, just like everyone else.

She wasn't a witch, she _wasn't_; she was just Alice. She couldn't help that she could see things, things that could be, that she could _do_ things, beyond extraordinary things; that wasn't something she could control. It wasn't her fault she was different; it was just something she'd been _born with_.

But here she was. Beaten, outcast, and condemned to burn.

Sobbing, Alice hung her head, unable to look anymore, and wished with all her heart that she could go back, back to better times, to sweeter things.

_~o~_

_**That evening sun's red will continue to burn  
**_**(Death is weighing upon us!)  
**_~o~_

"_Ah! My hat!"_

_Alice made a wild grab for it, but the small hat evaded her grasp, slip-sliding along the gusts of wind, flipping and twirling in the air. Brushing her hair out of her face, Alice huffed in exasperation before chasing after her hat, doing her best to keep an eye out for it. As the hat made another graceful loop in the air before sailing to the ground, Alice picked up the skirts of her dress and sped up, just wanting to pick up her runaway hat and continue on with her day._

_She didn't expect to find her hat in the hands of a young man._

_ Alice blinked, surprised, staring at the handsome man, from his golden hair to his cobalt blue eyes which easily found hers, lips curving into a warm smile as he held out her hat, tipping his head slightly in greeting._

"_Ma'am," he said, "is this yours?" _

_His voice made her think of things like honey and sunshine, warmth and comfort, and a light blush spread across her cheeks as she smiled gratefully, "yes," she sighed, relieved, "yes it is! Thank you so much for grabbing it for me!"_

_Alice stepped towards him, taking her hat out of his hands, and when their fingers lightly brushed together, she felt warm sparks run through her. Looking shyly at him through her lashes, Alice couldn't help but wonder if he had felt it, too._

_ He gave no indication, so she placed her hat on her head and smiled at him once again; preparing her goodbyes so she could go on with her day._

_Those plans ended instantly when he reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her, "I hope I'm not being too forward, but...may I ask a lovely young lady her name?"_

_She placed a hand over her mouth to cover her smile, but Alice had a feeling he saw it nonetheless, "I...I'm Alice. Alice Masen. Now," she said teasingly, "I hope that _I'm_ not being too forward, but could I ask a handsome young man his name?"_

_His lips quirked with amusement, and a leaned down to brush a kiss along the back of her knuckles, "Jasper Whitlock, ma'am."_

_His voice was a drawl, hinted with an accent she couldn't place, and Alice felt like she'd found something she'd been waiting for for a long, long time._

_~o~_

Jane felt her heart twist with _something_ as Alice hung her head and sobbed, everything about her screaming her resignation to her fate. She scrambled blindly for the crucifix around her neck, clasping it between her hands and pressing it to her lips as she whispered a fierce prayer.

If she could really be honest, she didn't want to do this.

Alice was a sweet girl, always light and laughter, and for her to be a witch was practically impossible. Witches were evil, manipulative things, and Alice was just..._Alice._

Tears pricked her eyes as she fiercely reminded herself that Alice _was_ a witch, that she'd manipulated them so thoroughly and skillfully that they were completely blind to it, letting her be able to sink her claws into the prince.

Her lips trembled as she finished her prayer, but when Jane opened her eyes her expression was hard with her resolve and determination. This had to be done. She had to do this.

Raising a hand, she gestured for the executioner to light the fire.

_~o~_

"_Ah-what's going-ow!"_

_Alice grunted as she was shoved to her knees, her bound arms bent behind her painfully. She looked around; shivering in the thin, ragged prison dress they'd given her, confused._

_All she wanted to know was why they were doing this to her; they'd burst into her home in the middle of the night, taking her away and scaring her family. They threw her into a cell where she sat, frightened and confused, for the entire night. Even now, she wracked her brains, thinking, trying to figure out what crime she had committed to be treated in such a way._

_ The doors opened, and the soft click of footsteps came towards her, making Alice look up into Jasper's stony face._

"_Jasper!" she said, her voice shaking, "Jasper, what's going on? What is it? The-they-they just came and snatched me up, and I don't-what have I done? I don't underst-"_

_Her voice withered and died as Jasper's expression became cold, and she sat there, shivering, as Jasper walked around her. From behind her, she heard the sing of metal, of a sword being unsheathed, and her blood went cold._

_Alice didn't move, _couldn't_ move, so frozen with terror she was, and she cried out as a hand roughly grabbed her long hair, pulling it taught._

_ "Alice Masen," Jasper spoke, his voice holding no emotion, "you have been accused and charged guilty of practicing witchcraft..."_

_Alice's shoulders stiffened, her eyes widening, and to people watching, that just proved her guilt._

"_...and you have been sentenced to death by burning at the stake."_

_Everything went fuzzy at the ends of her vision, and Alice couldn't breathe, so stunned she was. She couldn't think of anything to say, couldn't protest; her voice had faded away, was carried off by the wind. _

_So she just stared and stared and stared at nothing, even when she felt the sword slice through her hair (she couldn't feel the slight tremor of Jasper's hands, see the tears that made their way down his face) and the shorn locks drifted around her and down her shoulders like feathers._

_It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She was going to die._

_She was going to burn._

_~o~_

_**Let's forget about the magic that stops time  
Now is a time of joy**_  
_~o~_

_**Held by the cross, I look up at the sky  
**_**(Repent! Repent!)  
**_**While the voice of prayers die down**_

**(My devotion has evaporated into nothingness)  
**_~o~_

Alice looked up, her eyes dulled and red from her tears, as the executioner neared her, a torch in hand, and she felt despair grab her anew and pull her under once again.

It wasn't fair. _It wasn't fair._ It wasn't her choice to be born the way she was; it was a part of her, as natural as breathing, and why couldn't they just _accept_ that?

She wouldn't force anyone's affections, _never_; she _loved_ Jasper, loved him with all her heart and soul. She was meant to love him, prince or no, and she would do so in this life and all the others to come.

_~o~_

_**If you call this love black magic  
**_**(Now, everything there is)  
**_**then light the flames of hatred  
**_**(She's lost her way)  
**_~o~_

As the flames neared her pyre, Alice felt fear rise up in her, grip her tight and strong.

She wouldn't die, not like this. _She wouldn't._ Alice wouldn't let herself be killed in such a way, for something so far beyond her control. She bowed her head, gritting her teeth, thinking of her family in that crowd somewhere, about to watch her die. The townspeople she loved so much, pushing her away so harshly. Her one and only, the love of her life, standing back and letting her burn, old prejudice getting in the way of love.

Alice jerked her head up and she _screamed._

_~o~_

_**Like this red, burning flame**_  
**(Repent! Repent!)**

_~o~_

Everyone cried out, taking a step back as the wind began to pick up, Alice's screams becoming more and more high pitched, sounding less and less human and more like a bird's call, the scream of an eagle.

Jasper covered his eyes, unable to look away as two large, jet black wings appeared where Alice's arms used to be, easily tearing the ropes and stirring up the wind even more. With one strong flap of her wings, Alice was gone, shooting up, up, up into the air, away from them.

"Alice..." Jasper stumbled forward, reaching out, even though it was hopeless, even though it was much, much too late, "Alice, wait! No! _No!"_

But she was gone. She was gone, flying into the red sky, black feathers fluttering to the ground in her wake. Alice was gone, she was _gone_, and no matter how much Jasper called for her, she would never, ever come back, and as a feather landed lightly in his open palm, he was filled with a deep hopelessness, a small hole in his heart.

Alice was gone. She was gone, and it was because of him. He sent the only woman he'd ever love away, and he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

_~o~_

_**Don't forget the reason for your bitter tears  
**_(**Death is weighing upon us!)**

_~o~_

* * *

**_Man. This might be kinda bad, but I don't care, it just feels tooooo good to write about something again._**

**_Sooooo, I hoped you liked it. Review if you want to (but I'd love it immensely if you did)_**

**_Until next time!_**

**_The Author_**


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